NEW DELHI: The Congress
UP unit chief
Ajay Rai on Sunday expressed confidence that either former party president
Rahul Gandhi
or general secretary
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
will contest the
Lok Sabha elections
from the traditional bastions of
Amethi
or
Raebareli
.
Rai’s statement follows the Congress’s recent release of a list of nine candidates from UP, conspicuously omitting the nominations for the Amethi and Raebareli seats, long-held as family strongholds of the Nehru-Gandhi lineage.
Asserting the party workers’ persistent demand, Rai, who himself is contesting from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that there’s a strong belief among the cadre that one of the two Gandhi scions will indeed vie for electoral victory in one of these two constituencies.
“While we remain confident, it’s certain that at least one of the two will contest the election from either of these two seats,” Rai said.
Highlighting the earnest wish of party leaders and workers, Rai emphasized that the collective aspiration is for Rahul Gandhi to contest from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi from Raebareli. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that the final verdict rests with the party’s top brass.
Responding to queries regarding the likelihood of Rahul and Priyanka contesting from Amethi and Raebareli, Rai indicated, “If the party hasn’t declared candidates for these seats yet, it suggests that the demands of party workers are being taken into account.”
“After the festivities of Holi, the remaining eight candidates for Uttar Pradesh, including those for Amethi and Raebareli, will be announced,” Rai confirmed.
The Congress, contesting 17 seats in UP as part of the INDIA bloc, unveiled its initial list on Saturday, featuring Rai alongside prominent names such as Imran Masood from Saharanpur, Danish Ali from Amroha, and other seasoned contenders poised for electoral battle across the state.
(With inputs from PTI)
